Stuck with six

Well, if Tom Renney is going to deprive any defensemen of ice time for not delivering on expectations, he’ll have to deprive them in 2009.

With Corey Potter going back to Hartford yet again, the Rangers are back to having only six blueliners, which means Renney isn’t in a position to bench anyone tonight. Michal Rozsival goes back in after missing Saturday’s loss, and Wade Redden and the red-hot Dmitri Kalinin (riding a one-game goal-scoring streak) remain in as well.

Why the team’s continued aversion to carrying a seventh defenseman? The easy answer has to do with saving money toward the cap, while also allowing Potter to play as opposed to sitting with the Rangers. But it’s not like Potter would cost the Rangers that much, and it’s not like he’s been festering on the bench for weeks on end.

And one would think even having him around might serve as a reminder to the players in front of him. But if that’s going to happen, it’ll have to be after the new year.

In other news:

<li>Scott Gomez skated on his own before today’s optional skate after missing yesterday’s practice with the flu, and will play tonight. Renney said he was toying with playing Gomez with Markus Naslund and Lauri Korpikoski, but he hadn’t made up his mind. Either way, expect Brandon Dubinsky to be reunited with Nikolai Zherdev.

<li>Petr Prucha also goes back in the lineup in place of Aaron Voros, and will skate with either the Gomez line or the Dubinsky. Dan Fritsche will also be a scratch.

<li>Rick DiPietro is expected to play tonight for the Isles, who will however be without Doug Weight.

38 Comments

nice to see prucha in over Voros. Maybe it’ll actually last a few games. Dawes has been playing well (mostly) since he started to get some more consistent playing time. I don’t mind having Voros out of the lineup for a long period of time.

How Renney continues to allow our three vastly overpaid “non
Defense” men to dress & play each & every game is beyond comprehension. I’d rather see Potter playing every game than any of those three.
He needs to allow them & our other highly paid underachievers to observe from the press box & give them a sense of urgency & commitment.
Why is poor Prucha the only one to be held accountable? Inefective as he has been, at least he tries hard every second he is on the ice, which is way more than you say say for the alot of his mates.

He’s not a hockey fan at all, knows I am, I didn’t really understand, but whatever, I forgot about it.

Saturday night I stop by his place before we go out and he hands my a plastic gift bag with a Dubinsky autographed puck with a cert of authenticity from NYR.

Apparently he was at some auction of some sort and saw the puck and thought of me, he said “the bidding was only up to $40 so I put $50 and won it for ya!”

I thanked him dearly and didn’t have the heart to tell him how much he overpaid… hopefully the thing becomes valuable in the future. Thank god it was a player I like, otherwise it would have ended up a $50 puck in my hockey bag and eventually in the back of some net, never to be seen again.

I was at the Caps game the other night as well as the Debbie game with my brother who just spent 15 months in Iraq and the first thing he said was, “the Defense absolutely sucks outside of Staal, Mara, and Girardi they ain’t got a prayer!”

I really dont understan why Potter is not playing…and Kalinin is…one other attribute of Potters..over Kalinin is he does have an edge to his game and positionally is far superior to that of Kalinin…boys…as we are…we aint going anywhere but down…breaks my heart as I am a die hard fan of the Rangers for over 30 years

This is becoming a total fuuking joke!
Definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over thinking it will have a different outcome.

That’s it, I’m all for it now, fire Renney.

Why would you NOT sit Redden, can anyone tell me that please? Potter had an assist in his second pro game, and played solid. And his reward? Congratulations, now go back to HArtford so Mr moneybags do nothing, hit no one defensemen can play anohter game where he sucks balls and tries to stick check everyone instead of taking the body.

Prucha in is at the VERY least an improvement. Voros should have been sat a few games ago, as well as some others.
But no, money dictates playing time.

Way to be tough and have consequences for your team DOUCHE BAG.

ARGGGGGGGGGGG I hate Renney!

and DOnt worry Prucha will score, again tonight, and then ride the pine for 10 more games.

That is a good article and dead on. The last thing this team needs is a locker room cancer and the ultimate penalty magnet in NHL history (at this point). If Avery is the only answer left for this team to toughen up, then both the org and the league are in a sad way.

Seeing as we’re playing the Islanders tonight. My most hated team in ALLLLLLLL of sports,I gotta root for the rangers.I’ll get back to hoping they lose til Renney gets fired next game.
I’ve been a Rangers fan before most of you have been born.I have never been more pissed at this team EVER then I am now.Sather’s fault too for all his HORSESHIT signings.
I told big mouth (beer me)months ago, last year too,that Renney should get fired.I even offered to put up a poll to see who was on what side in this matter.
He said to get lost and shut-up,,,,well sonny(beer me) what do ya think now,still happy with your daddy as coach????????????????????????????????????

Salty, let me make this crystal clear…if the Bruins were playing the Rangers tonight, I’d be rooting for the Rangers to win, you on the other hand would hope we get embarrassed by Boston. In case you mis-read my post…my 2nd favorite team. I like all of the original six…I’m a Hockey Fan…but I bleed Ranger Blue…

Someone somewhere in this org really needs to look at Renny. Can he only get difficult players motivated (Zerduv, Jags)seems like anyone else that comes to NY plays like crap and can not score.
Ok I have bitched enough about Ren’s, it’s not like he is going anywhere soon. Or soon enough anyway. ha ha

I’ve been telling everyone all year “hey I think I’m falling in love with the Jackets”

Everyone laughs at it…then we were wacthing a Phoenix game against another team in phoenix and these two people in the crown are wearing Blue Jackets Jerseys!!!
My girl friend and the kids laughed, I said “There you see? The legend is expaning!!’

Sather wants to save money? So he sends down Potter.. Doesn’t Fritche make 300K more than Potter? Hasn’t he been rotting on the bench for much longer than Prucha.. And now with the reports Cheraponev was blood doping(don’t ask me what the hell it is).. And the losing streak and the talks of avery coming back. this god damn team is a circus side show.

And I swear if renney takes Zherdev off dubinsky’s line.. I’ll kill someone. Literally. I think I need to see a therapist. Excuse my rant.

On the positive side of things.. I watch the Juniors game last night and Kundratek looked solid.Very defensive with a bit of physicality to his game. For the most talented Czech in the 2008 draft(albeit in the third round), I would not be at all disappointed if he turned into a nice number five defenseman down the road..

I may root against the Rangers from time to time but it’s more out of disgust rather than really supporting other teams, that’s weak. I enjoy watching some other teams on occasion but I can never really get into it. That’s my curse. Believe me, if I could abandon this nightmare of an organization, I would have long ago. As far as I’m concerned the Rangers are the joke of the NHL.

Well, well, well… We fans have had to endure several games of nonsense for Renney to finally figure out that Aaron Voros is nothing more than a punching bag that deflected a few pucks early this season.

Now, maybe he’ll figure that Gomez and Naslund need someone with intensity and desire to forecheck for them. It would seem obvious, but then again, working on the Power Play everyday would seem obvious too.

Lets make a list of things the Rangers should have gotten for the holidays.

1. A new coach. This guy is terrible, for real. Tell these guys to do speed skating at practice to shape their asses up, this is enough bullshit hockey.

2. A new GM. Sather was ready to step down and just assume the role of President of the NYR, his moves are stupid and ludicrous. His decisions on the forward line were questionable but now to be stuck with two, dare i say, mediocre centres that are 7 million a piece.

3. A new defensive core. Im sure we have the money to buy out Redden and Rozsival and to release Kalinin, do we need them? Those guys have honestly been this team’s achilles heel. We should have signed guys like Mark Streit and picked up a guy like Dan Boyle in a trade. But of course, Free agent first!

4. A real aura. You sure as shit know when the Sharks, the Bruins or the Red Wings are coming in to town, the Rangers? We need to be feared. This is enough. We have a team with potential and Renney is pulling a Doug Wilson in SJ. Bring in another teams PP specialist for our new head coach, fire Pearn because he sucks so bad, and replace him with another PP coach.

Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to assert that I get actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I will be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently fast.